Slice feeding lid

ABSTRACT

A slice feeding lid designed for use in automatic handling equipment and having a closure wall with a central portion offset from the plane of the periphery of the central portion and joined thereto by a camming surface which cooperates with an identical adjacent lid in a stack to cause the stacked lids to displace axially when the bottom lid is sliced from the stack.

United States Patent [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS3,353,708 11/1967 [72] Inventor Paul Davis Swampscott, Mass. 24,280

[21] Appl.No.

5253mm git 1 21 31 9 7 1 ,502,206 3/1970 l'lultberg et al.

[73] Assignee Sweetheart Plasticshm 3,520,441 7/1970Fitzgerald.....................

Wilmington, Mass.

Primary ExaminerGeorge T. Hall Attorney-Wolf, Greenfield, Hieken & Sacks[54] SLICE FEEDING LID 10 Claims 8 Drawing Figs ABSTRACT: A slicefeeding lid designed for use in automatic handling equipment and havinga closure wall with a central portion offset from the plane of theperiphery of the central portion and joined thereto by a camming surfacewhich cooperates with an identical adjacent lid in a stack to cause thestacked lids to displace axially when the bottom lid is sliced from thestack.

PATENTEDHBT 19 an 3,613,940

SHEET 10F 3 FIG. I

FIG. 3

INVENTOR PAUL DAVIS ATTORNEYS FIG. 4

PATENTEDUBT 19 |97| SHEET 2 OF 3 3, 13,940

HQ F0 FIG. 5

x I Q I V 1 2 mm a A ATTORNEYS PATENTEnnm 19 um sum 30F, 3 3.613.940

FIG. 6

FIG. 7

FIG. 8

INVENTOR PAUL DAVIS ATTORNEYS 1 SLICE resume LII) This invention relatesto plastic lids, and more particularly comprises a new and improveddisposable one-piece coverall plastic lid such: as those used with foodcontainers filled on automatic filling machines.

At the present time it is common practice to use coverall lids made ofplastic in combination with food containers filled on automatic. fillingequipment. The machines presently available to fill the containers andsubsequently capv them include automatic lid-handling mechanisms whichslice feed the lids in stack form one at a time to acapping station. Insuch mechanisms the lids are stacked in nested relationship, andstacking facilities are designed into the lids in an effort to avoidcompacting of the lids, which makes them difficult to separate.Nevertheless, because the lids are often made of relatively thin plasticmaterial, they are quite flexible and distort readily, and theyfrequently compact together during. shipment or in the magazine of thelid-handling mechanism. When lids are in a compacted state while in themagazine, the feeding mechanism cannot separate the lids properly, andthe mechanism jams and special attention is required of the operator. Incertain prior art devices, special mechanisms such as revolving stackposts and motor-driven discs are built into the dispensers to createagitationin the stack. These mechanisms are expensive and are notaltogether satisfactory.

One object of this invention is to provide a coverall lid capable ofbeing handled in automatic lid-feeding mechanisms and which itselfserves to agitate the lids in the magazine as each lid is fed so as toseparate compacted lids and prevent additional compacting.

Another object of this invention is to provide a coverall lid which issuitable for use with so-called rim-stacking containers so as toestablish a standard fill depth for the container when the bottom of thestacking facility is substantially above the normal fill height.

Another object of this invention is to provide means for enabling asingle container to be used for different fill volumes.

FIG. I is a cross-sectional elevation view showing a lid and containerconstructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 1 showing anothercontainer and lid constructed in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary cross-sectional elevation showing a lid magazineand shuttle feed mechanism containing a stack of lids shown in FIG. I;

FIG. 4 is a cross'sectional view similar to FIG. 3 and showing themanner in which the lowermost lid in the magazine is sliced from thestack and the effect of that action on other lids in the magazine;

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view similar to FIG. 4 and showing themechanism filled with lids of the FIG. 2 embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view of two lids in nestedrelationship that comprise another embodiment of this invention;

FIG. 7 is a view of the lids shown in FIG. 6 compacted in jammedrelation; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional elevation view showing yet anotherembodiment of lid and container constructed in accordance with thisinvention.

In FIG. l a container It) and lid 112 are shown with the lid seated onthe container rim in sealed relationship. The container which may be ofany configuration is shown in the drawing to include a bottom wall 14and a sidewall 16 integrally joined at the lower corner 18. The upperportion 18 of the sidewall l6 of the container is providedwith a lidseat 20 in the form of a shoulder which extends outwardly from the planeof sidewall 16. The upper margin of the sidewall 16 is provided with arolled rim 22, and the container is designed to nest with otheridentical containers with the lower surface of shoulder 20 supported onthe crown of the rim 22 of the next lower container, to prevent thecontainers from compacting, in accordance with well known techniques inthe container art.

The lid 12 includes a closure wall 24 having a central portion 26 and asurrounding peripheral portion 28 joined by camming surface 20.Preferably the diameter of the central portion 26 of the lid exceeds thediameter of the bottom wall 14 of the container to form a seat whenfilled containers are stacked one on the other. The lid also contains asidewall 32 joined to the peripheral portion 28 by bead 34 which isdesigned to cooperate with the lid seat 20 and/or inclinedintermediatewall 35 of the upper portion 18 of the container to form aseal betweenthe container andLIid. As will be explained more fullybelow, the head 34 also enhances nesting of identical lids of the typeshown in a magazine, shipping carton, etc.

An outwardly extending flange 36 is connected to the top of sidewall 32of the lid at comer 33, and a skirt 40 is joined to the outer edge 42 ofthe flange 36 and extends downwardly to the plane of the peripheralportion 28 of the closure wall 24. To seat the lid as shown in FIG. 1,the bead 34 is snapped by the inner edge 44 of the rim 22, and becausethe inner diameter of the rim 22 is less than. the outer diameter of thebead 34, once in place it remains in place unless substantial force isapplied to remove it.

It is to be understood that to effect a seal about the container mouththe peripheral portion 28 of the closure wall 24 of the lid need not beseated on the shoulder 20. The height of the sidewall 32 of the lid maybe substantially shorter axially than the axial distance between thecrown of the rim 22 and the shoulder 20, in which case the bead will notsit on the shoulder. The bead 34 normally should bear against theinclined wall 35 between the shoulder 20 and the rim 22, to effect theseal, which may or may not be supplemented by contact between shoulder20 and peripheral portion 28.

When the lid is on the container, it will be noted that the centralportion 26 extends substantially below the shoulder 20 so as to give thelid a depth d which is greater than the shoulder depth s. There areseveral desirable features which flow from this particularconfiguration. The. food packaging industry has established a more orless standard lid depth which makes a most attractive package. That is,the cylindrical wall of the lid established by the rim-coveringstructure provides an esthetically pleasing appearance by giving thecontainer the impression of strength and mass. However, with containersdesigned as rim stackers with lid seats very close to the top, less thanthe desired depth is provided if the closure wall of the lid is confinedsubstantially to the plane of the lid seat shoulder 20. And it isdesirable to reduce the axial extent between the rim crown and the lidseat 20 so as to reduce the stack height of a given number of containerswhen nested together, which obviously reduces shipping costs. Thus, theinvention serves opposing interests by allowing the axial height betweenthe rim and the lid seat 20 to be reduced while preserving the desireddepth of the lid between the central portion 26 and the flange 36.

Another important advantage of this invention is illustrated in FIGS. 3and 4. In those figures a magazine 50 is suggested composed of a numberof spaced posts 52 secured together at their lower ends by plate 54which in turn may be connected to the filling machine frame or othersupport. A typical magazine of the type shown is used on automaticfilling equipment such as shown in copending application Ser. No.607,251, filed Jan. 4, I967 entitled LIQUID FILLING MACHINE. In thatequipment containers are automatically filled, lids are fedautomatically to the containers, and the lids are snapped in place. Inthe mechanism of FIG. 3 a shuttle 56 is movable back and forth below themagazine 50 on platform 58 to feed to the lids to a capping station (notshown). The lids 12 are stacked in the magazine 50 in the mannershown'with the bottom of the sidewall 32- and the skirt 40 seated on thetop of the sidewall and skirt of the next lower lid in the stack. Inthis arrangement a relatively stable stack is provided which tends topreserve the orderly arrangement of the lids in the magazine whenstacked one upon the other as suggested. The bead 34 rests on flange 36of the next lower lid to resist lid jamming.

With the shuttle 56 in the position illustrated, its recess 60 receivesthe lowermost lid in the magazine 50 so that the eripheral wall portion28 rests on the surface 62 of support 58. A slot 64 may be provided inthe support 58 to receive the camming surface 30 and the central portion26 of the lowermost lid. To separate the lowermost lid from the stack,the shuttle 56 moves to the right, and this technique is ordinarilycalled slice feeding. When the lid is slice fed in this manner, it willbe apparent that the comer 38 of the lowermost lid as viewed on the leftin FIG. 3 will engage the camming surface 30' of the next upper lid 12'in the stack, and as the lowermost lid continues to move to the right itwill elevate the stack of lids above it. This is clearly shown in FIG.4. Thus, as each lid is sliced from the bottom of the stack during eachactuation of the shuttle 56, the lowermost lid agitates the stack bypushing the lids upwardly in the magazine. This agitation serves tomaintain the several lids in the stack in an uncompacted condition. Thatis, the lids have a tendency to jam together particularly when they areformed of thin sheet plastic material, and the agitation of the stackserves to unstick any of the lids which have become fully or partiallyjammed. The agitation will also serve to disturb the stack sufficientlyto prevent the flange 36 of one lid from entering between the skirt andsidewall of the next upper lid. The stack is agitated during each cycleof the shuttle 56.

The camming surface 30 in each lid serves an additional function byproviding axial stiffness in the closure wall 24 while enhancing radialflexibility. Thus it allows the bead 34 to snap more easily by the inneredge 44 of the rim.

The lid shown in FIG. 2 in one sense is the reverse of the lid of FIG. Iin that its closure wall 70 has a central portion 72 that is displacedupwardly above the cylindrical wall 74 composed of the flange 76,sidewall 78, and skirt 80. The flange, sidewall and skirt of the lid ofFIG. 2 may be identical to the corresponding parts of the lid of FIG. I,as is the bead 82 which joins the sidewall 78 to the closure wall 70.

The container illustrated in FIG. 2 is identical to that of FIG. I, andit will be appreciated that with the lid of FIG. 2 the container volumeis significantly increased. The extent of the increase is of coursedependent upon the axial displacement of the central portion of the lid.It will be appreciated that significant savings may be realized byreducing inventory requirements if one size of container may be used fordifferent volumes and only different lid configurations are used. Thusby providing a line of lids having central portions of different depthbetween the extremes of FIGS. I and 2, the same container could be usedover a range of several ounces to pack ice cream or other foods.

In FIG. 5 the manner in which the lids of FIG. 2 may be slice fed from amagazine is suggested. When the lowermost lid is displaced to the right,the camming surface 86 of the lowermost lid on the right is shown toengage the camming surface 86 of the next upper lid so as to elevatethat lid and as a result agitate all those lids above it in themagazine. Thus with each ejection of a lid from the magazine, the entirecolumn of lids in the magazine is agitated to loosen them and preventjamming. It will be appreciated if the closure wall 24 or 70 of eitherof the lids shown is confined to the axial space between the flange 36or 76 and the bottoms of the skirt 40 or 80 and sidewall 32 or 78, noagitation will be imparted to the lids above the lowermost lid in thestack when the lowermost lid is slice fed by the shuttle but rather thecolumn of lids will only fall in the magazine as each lid is sliced fromthe bottom.

In FIGS. 6 and 7 a slight modification of the invention is shown, and inconnection with this embodiment the tendency of the lids to compact isillustrated. In FIG. 6, the lids 100 are provided with a beveled surface102 which joins the sidewall I04 with the outwardly extending flange I06at the cylindrical peripheral wall I08 that surrounds the closure wall110. The beveled surface 102 serves as a support for the bead 112 at thebottom of the sidewall 104. It is evident in FIG. 6 that when the beadI12 of the upper lid rests on the beveled surface 102' of the next lowerlid, and simultaneously the foot 114 of the skirt 116 engages the radius118' of the next lower lid, the stack of lids has considerable lateralstability when nested in proper relationship with the lid axescoincident with one another. The beveled surface which adds to stackstability has the disadvantage of somewhat increasing the opportunity ofthe lids to compact. In FIG. 7 it will be noted that the bead 112 at thebottom of the sidewall 104 has moved down to engage the top of thesidewall 104' of the next lower lid, while the foot I 14 at the bottomof skirt 116 has slipped down to engage the skirt 116' of the lower lid.Because the lids are often made of a very thin and flexible sheetmaterial, the peripheral cylindrical structure of the lid can distort soas to bind on the lid below in the manner illustrated in FIG. 7. Theinclined surface I02 may serve as a wedge to spread the gap between theskirt and sidewall to open it sufficiently to receive the peripheralstructure of the next adjacent lid.

In connection with the embodiment of FIG. I mention was made of theadvantage achieved by the lid of preserving the desired lid depth evenwhen the stack height of the rimstacking type of container is verysmall. This desirable feature may be served also by the embodiment ofthis invention shown in FIG. 8. In that figure the container 10 isidentical to the container of FIGS. 1 and 2, but the manner in which thelid cooperates with the rim of the container to seal the container mouthis somewhat modified. Thus, the lid 120 includes a peripheralcylindrical structure 122 which surrounds the closure wall 124 in turncomposed of the central portion 126, camming wall I28 and peripheralportion 130. In this form, the bead 132 which joins the peripheralportion to the sidewall I34 engages the very bottom of the lid seat asdefined by the shoulder I36 in the container, and the sidewall 134extends upwardly an appreciable distance above the crown I38 of thecontainer rim 140. The flange 142 thus spans the rim spaced above therim, and the skirt 144 of the lid extends downwardly from above the rim,to enclose it. By this arrangement, a standard or desired depth lid maybe achieved. To gain the total desired lid depth, a part of that depthis made up by the extent of the sidewall 134 of the lid and theremainder by the depression in the closure wall 124. Significantly, theclosure wall still contains the camming surface 128 to cause agitationof the lid as it is slice fed from the magazine. It will be appreciatedthat the lid may contain the inclined surface 102 as shown in theembodiment of FIG. 6, but that surface is not necessary.

While in the embodiments shown the skirt and sidewall of each lid areshown to be axially coextensive, it is to be understood that the lidsneed not have that configuration, and either the outer skirt or thesidewall alone may be used for nesting purposes. However, if the two areto cooperate as shown in FIG. 3 to support the lids in nested relationin the stack, then the axial height of the sidewall and skirt should beidentical, but they need not be coextensive.

Having described this invention in detail, what I claim is:

I. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid comprising a closurewall and an upstanding sidewall joined to the periphery of the closurewall,

a flange extending outwardly from and joined to the sidewall,

and a downwardly extending skirt joined to the periphery of the flange,

said sidewall, flange and skirt defining a U-shaped pocket to receivethe rim of a container with which said lid may be used,

an axially displaced central portion provided in the closure wall andextending at least in one direction axially beyond the axial limits ofthe skirt and sidewall,

and a camming surface joining the central portion of the closure wallwith its surrounding portion which would be engaged by an identical lidstacked below to move the lid axially when said identical lid is slicedfrom the stack.

2. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid as described in claim Ifurther characterized by said central portion lying below the bottom ofthe skirt and sidewall,

said camm ing surface extending upwardly and outwardly from the centralportion of the surrounding portion.

3. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid as described in claim 1further characterized by said central portion lying above the top of theskirt and sidewall,

said camming surface extending from the central portion downwardly andoutwardly to the surrounding portion.

4. In combination with the lid of claim 1,

a container having side and bottom walls, and a rolled rim,

and a lid seat in the sidewall disposed below the rim for receiving theperiphery of the closure wall and the bottom of the lid sidewall,

said central portion of the sidewall lying outside the plane of the lidseat.

5. ln the combination of claim 4,

said central portion lying below the plane of said lid seat,

and said central portion having a greater diameter than the bottom wallof the container.

6. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid as described in claim 1further characterized by said skirt and sidewall being of the same axialheight causing their bottoms to rest on the tops of the skirt andsidewall of the next lower lid when two such lids are nested together. i7. In the combination of claim 4, said central portion lying above theplane of the rim. 8. In the combination of claim 4, said rolled rimlying below and spaced from the flange of the lid. 9. In the combinationof claim 5, said rolled rim lying below and spaced from the flange ofthe lid. 10. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid as describedin claim 1 further characterized by an upwardly and outwardly inclinedwall joining the top of the sidewall to the inner edge of the flange.

1. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid comprising a closurewall and an upstanding sidewall joined to the periphery of the closurewall, a flange extending outwardly from and joined to the sidewall, anda downwardly extending skirt joined to the periphery of the flange, saidsidewall, flange and skirt defining a U-shaped pocket to receive the rimof a container with which said lid may be used, an axially displacedcentral portion provided in the closure wall and extending at least inone direction axially beyond the axial limits of the skirt and sidewall,and a camming surface joining the central portion of the closure wallwith its surrounding portion which would be engaged by an identical lidstacked below to move the lid axially when said identical lid is slicedfrom the stack.
 2. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid asdescribed in claim 1 further characterized by said central portion lyingbelow the bottom of the skirt and sidewall, said camming surfaceextending upwardly and outwardly from the central portion of thesurrounding portion.
 3. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid asdescribed in claim 1 further characterized by said central portion lyingabove the top of the skirt and sidewall, said camming surface extendingfrom the central portion downwardly and outwardly to the surroundingportion.
 4. In combination with the lid of claim 1, a container havingside and bottom walls, and a rolled rim, and a lid seat in the sidewalldisposed below the rim for receiving the periphery of the closure walland the bottom of the lid sidewall, said central portion of the sidewalllying outside the plane of the lid seat.
 5. In the combination of claim4, said central portion lying below the plane of said lid seat, and saidcentral portion having a greater diameter than the bottom wall of thecontainer.
 6. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid as describedin claim 1 further characterized by said skirt and sidewall being of thesame axial height causing their bottoms to rest on the tops of the skirtand sidewall of the next lower lid when two such lids are nestedtogether.
 7. In the combination of claim 4, said central portion lyingabove the plane of the rim.
 8. In the combination of claim 4, saidrolled rim lying below and spaced from the flange of the lid.
 9. In thecombination of claim 5, said rolled rim lying below and spaced from theflange of the lid.
 10. A disposable one-piece coverall, plastic lid asdescribed in claim 1 further characterized by an upwardly and outwardlyinclined wall joining the top of the sidewall to the inner edge of theflange.